Lily's First Broom
by Akela Victoire
Summary: In an effort to make an anxious classmate feel better about her first flying lesson, Lily gives a summary of the chaos that ensued the first time she owned her own broom to her and their fellow Gryffindor first years.


Lily was overjoyed.

She was finally at Hogwarts; ready for her first formal flying lesson later that morning.

It was going to be, as her dormmate Marilee put it, _super._

The weather that Monday morning was bright and sunny- unusual for the United Kingdom in general- but would be perfect for a day of learning how to fly if it remained that way.

Not that she didn't know how to fly already. Her family- Mum, Dad and James especially had made sure of it. Albus on the other hand... well, he didn't like flying much.

There was always one of _those_ in the family...

Her excitement was shared by most of her fellow Gryffindor First Years as they headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning.

"Lovely morning for a flying lesson, innit?" one classmate, Aiden Finnegan spoke cheerfully.

"Certainly is..." her cousin Hugo sounded jut as cheerful as they found their spots at their house table.

"Why, hello there, Gryffindor's newest crop of midgets. Ready for your first flying lesson?" cousin Fred sat across from her, grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" she began helping herself to a platter of scrambled eggs.

"Speak for yourself. I would rather keep my feet planted firmly on the ground, thanks..." one curly-haired blonde girl answered from a few seats down from Lily's right, next to a pair of Arabic-looking twin girls who nodded in agreement.

"I, for one, know that I'll be great at flying just like my dad. I'll be out flying all of you here..." a stocky boy with dark brown hair declared confidently as he helped himself to what looked like half the platter of bacon in front of him.

"Oh shut up, McLaggen..." one Asian girl paused from buttering her toast to glare at him.

"I'll be great at flying like _my_ dad then. I want to play Quidditch for our House someday. Maybe I'll play Beater though. Or I'll try for Chaser like my mum..." Lily spoke between mouthfuls of food.

"Looking forward to having you on the team, little sister." James grinned as he shoved Fred aside to grab a seat across from her. Albus, who had been close behind him, rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and decided to seat himself in a more dignified manner.

"Great. A Potter-Weasley takeover of the Gryffindor Quidditch team..." McLaggen grumbled.

"Oh, be quiet. They all earned their spots on the team fair and square. Probably would make for some interesting matches too. Weasley vs. Weasley vs. Potter... Well, you get the idea..." a brown-skinned girl with dark hair up in a braided bun spoke up, right next to Lily.

"James still hasn't forgiven Dominique and Louis for not being in Gryffindor..." Lily giggled.

 _"Bloody well right. And Dominique went to **Slytherin** of all places..."_ James grumbled.

"Just how many of you are there, anyway?" a dark-skinned boy with low-cut hair asked.

"Enough to take over the entire school probably." James shrugged.

"I still don't want to do this whole flying thing! I have a hard enough time gong on an airplane with my family. I don't want to go on a flying stick!" the curly-haired blonde girl looked terrified at the thought of leaving the ground for any period of time.

"You'll be fine, Emily. You can do it!" Lily smiled encouragingly at her.

"I don't know, Lily. I just don't think I can do it!" Emily looked ready to burst into tears. "I mean, what if I fly do high that I go into space or something?"

"That won't happen, Emily. Brooms aren't designed to go that far..." one girl with light brown hair pulled into a ponytail with a black bow barely looked up from her porridge as she spoke.

"Marilee's right. And so is Lily. You'll be okay." the brown-skinned girl smiled encouragingly.

"Thank you, Amita. But..." Emily shuddered.

"Flying can be really fun! You don't have to play Quidditch or anything like that. You could just go on a nice flight. In fact, I'm pretty good at flying. Maybe I could help you out in class, if you'd like..." Lily offered.

"Really?" Emily's eyes shone with hope.

"Really. In fact, why don't I tell you about the first time that my parents tried teaching me how to fly?" Lily asked.

"Oh boy. This one's going to be fun..." Fred grinned.

"How is it going to be fun? " Emily asked, her terror surpassed by her curiosity.

"Let's just say that... my first time flying was... rather eventful..." Lily smiled at the memory.

"Oh it was..." Albus grumbled under his breath somewhere nearby.

"I was five when they first got me a training broom. Not a little toddler toy broom, but a real broom for younger children. The Firebolt Junior 2..." Lily smiled at the memory. "It was a birthday present, actually. Looked almost like the latest adult broom too, except there were these little break things at the sides, almost like the sort you see on a bicycle. Mummy was the one who handed it to me, a giant, cherry blossom pink bow tied around the middle..."

"Lily really did love that broom..." James noted.

"I ripped off that ribbon and was on it in a flash. Now, I really should remind you that I was only five. It was my birthday. My mum and dad are pretty damn good on brooms, so naturally, they passed on some... eagerness to fly down to me. They'd also invited all the younger Weasley kids and a few others. Lots of sugary thins were at that party- much to Auntie Hermione's dismay, might I add..."

Some of the first years began snickering at the implications.

"Even before I got on that broom, I was in sheer ecstasy. Adding cake that my Grandma had made and that Muggle drink Coke (which I still love, by the way!) to the mix was _bound_ to end in disaster." Lily giggled. :That broom went five feet off the ground at most and yet..."

"And yet, _what?_ " Emily pressed.

"I was off like a rocket. Zig-zagging around people at the party, going over and under tables... I'm pretty sure that our family cat, Lulu accidentally hitched a ride on the broom somehow and was thoroughly traumatised by it afterwards. Refused to come near me again for _months_ afterwards, she did..."

"How did it end?" Amita asked.

"On my terms. After I'd done all the loops, twirls and imitations of Quidditch moves that I wanted, I landed right in front of my harried-looking parents, calmly as ever." Lily giggled.

"Sounds like you had fun!" Emily giggled.

"Oh, I did. Have you ever been so shocked that you didn't know what to say next? Well, that's the best way I could describe my parents and everyone's-" Lily eyed Fred and James. _"-almost everyone's_ expressions there. When they recovered, mum and dad ran to me, hugged me tightly and tried to make me promise never to fly like that again. _Tried_ being the key word there. I _love_ the feeling of flying, whether like a loon or not."

"Well... your story certainly made me laugh, at least. I'm not one-hundred percent confident about that flying class, but I won't be flying like you did!" Emily exclaimed.

"That's good to hear..." an older Gryffindor girl with brown skin and short, dark hair approached them.

"Why, hello there, Prefect Jordan. Come to... _punish_ us?" Fred waggled his eyebrows.

The girl rolled her eyes. "No, Fred. I'm just here to check up on the first years to see if you've started pranking them yet. And to see how they're all doing. How are you lot, anyway?"

"Good." the first years answered in unison.

"Ella, you wound me so!" Fred cried dramatically.

"You'll get over it." Ella replied coolly.

The first years and a few others nearby giggled.

"Anyway, I'd like you lot to wait for me and Prefect Sheppard when you've done breakfast. We'll show you to your first class. What is it? Let me have a look see at one of your timetables." she motioned her hand for one and Amita, who was closest, handed over her copy.

"Oh... I see. You have Charms first with my mum. You'll like her. Professor Jordan. As long as you do her work and don't goof off..." Ella eyed Fred. "...in her class, you should be fine."

As the First Years began finished breakfast and stood up to wait for Prefects Jordan and Sheppard to take them to their first class, Lily turned to Emily.

"I guess the point of my little story was to make you feel better. You don't have to like flying, but you don't have to be afraid of it either." Lily said.

"She's right, you know," Amita spoke up from behind Lily. "My dad actually played Quidditch professionally for a while and taught me how to fly. I was afraid at first myself, but it turned out to not be so bad..."

"Will you help me in Flying class then? If I need it?" Emily asked.

Lily and Amita looked at one another.

"Sure, why not?" they chorused.

And that day, a bond of friendship began to form between the three young witches.

* * *

This is a story for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Comptition on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum Year 1 Flying Class.

 **Prompts**

 **Words:** Super, Space

 **Era:** Next Generation

 **Mood:** Overjoyed

 **Emotion:** Ecstasy

 **Colour:** Cherry Blossom Pink

 **Food:** Coke

 **Day of the Week:** Monday

 **Animal:** Cat

 **Action:** Hug

 **Dialogue:** "Have you ever been so shocked that you didn't know what to say next?"

 **Sentence:** I don't know *name* I just don't think I can do it!


End file.
